Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Virtual Into Verisimilitude: Videogames' Ability To Induce Empathy, Blake T. Bennett

CMC Senior Theses

The current study seeks to link traditional forms of empathy induction with new research that suggests videogames can be used as an experiential method of induction. One hundred-nine college students, sixty-four females and forty-six males, were used in a 2x2x2 design, the independent variables being prosocial/neutral videogame, empathic/neutral instructions, and gender. Dependent variables were both questionnaire responses to a fictional story and an opportunity to be realistically altruistic. Participants played either a prosocial or neutral videogame, received either empathic or neutral reading instructions, and then read a vignette depicting a difficult situation faced by the writer. They then rated their …

Petrocapitalism In Iraqi Kurdistan: Leveraging Oil And Gas Firms In Post-War Iraq, Chase W. Gray

CMC Senior Theses

In the absence of a continued military presence in Iraq, the United States must use alternative means to achieve its foreign policy goals. Stated goals include maintaining influence, increasing stability in Iraq, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula, and ensuring Iraq's territorial integrity. This paper suggests leveraging the power of American oil and gas firms operating in Iraqi Kurdistan given the relative ineffectiveness of the embassy in Baghdad and the hostility many Iraqis exhibit toward American diplomats. It first outlines American policy toward Iraqi Kurdistan from the end of the Gulf War to the present. Next it provides a brief overview …

The Evolution Of The Music Industry In The Post-Internet Era, Ashraf El Gamal

CMC Senior Theses

The rise in the prevalence of the Internet has had a wide range of implications in nearly every industry. Within the music business, the turn of the millennium came with a unique, and difficult, set of challenges. While the majority of academic literature in the area focuses specifically on the aspect of file sharing within the Internet as it negatively impacts sales within the recording sector, this study aims to assess the Internet’s wider impacts on the broader music industry. In the same time that record sales have plummeted, the live music sector has thrived, potentially presenting alternative business models …

Examining The Role Of Immigration In Crime Decline Across United States Cities, Brianna J. Losoya

CMC Senior Theses

Despite previous research in this area, the relationship between immigration and crime in the United States remains ambiguous and surrounded by misconceptions. However, recently, scholars have suggested that, despite the claims of policy-makers and popularized sociological theories, large immigrant concentrations may be linked with lower as opposed to higher crime rates. In the past, research in this area has been imprecise due to it its implementation of cross-sectional analyses for a limited selection of geographic regions. However, through the implementation of time-series procedures and the use of annual data for metropolitan statistical areas during the 2005–2010 periods, the present study …

Incentivizing Biodiversity Conservation: The Ecological Icms In Brazil, Erin Franks

CMC Senior Theses

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the ecological ICMS (ICMS-e) in the Brazilian Amazon, an intragovernmental transfer for incentivizing biodiversity conservation. Tax funds are passed from state governments to municipalities in proportion to the amount of protected area within their borders; biological reserves, sustainable use areas, and indigenous lands are all considered. Econometric analysis using a fixed effects model found that the policy had little positive effect on increasing protected areas compared to the significant negative influence of poor land tenure, agricultural influences, and lack of monitoring for illegal deforestation. However, the policy may increase municipal governments' acceptance of and …

Les Ambitions De Sarkozy Et Le Leadership Francais Dans L'Intervention En Libye De 2011, Heather Annette Siegel

CMC Senior Theses

En mars 2011, la communauté internationale s'est réunie pour soutenir les ambitions démocratiques des manifestants libyens et pour s'opposer vigoureusement à la violence perpétrée par Kadhafi contre son peuple. Nicolas Sarkzoy, président de la République française, a joué un rôle clé dans les négociations qui ont entraîné la mise en place d'une zone d'exclusion aérienne et le lancement d'une opération militaire pour protéger les populations civiles en Libye. Cette thèse examine les ambitions de Sarkozy et le leadership diplomatique qu'il a démontré entre le déclenchement des révoltes en Libye et le prise en charge de l'opération militaire par l'Otan. Elle …

The Politics Of Physical Education Reform, Ari Zyskind

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of the paper is to determine why today's youth are so physically inactive by examining the role and efforts of physical education, and the state and federal governments responsibility in supporting these programs, in fighting today's obesity epidemic by creating generations of healthy and physically active children. Research led to the determination that states have failed to maintain and improve physical education resulting in a physically inactive youth. Therefore, the nation should look to federal legislation to support state-led physical education, which this paper found to be constitutional if the enactments followed the provisions established in South Dakota …

Water Policy: The World's Most Important Resource Politicized, Ethan Gilbert

CMC Senior Theses

Water is the most important resource on the planet for sustaining life, and many consider access to water as a fundamental human right. However, in light of its necessity, the distribution and allocation of water has become a highly politicized issue. Economic and political conditions have been shown to be influential in shaping a country’s water policy, more so then recognition of water as a basic human right. The reason for this is that many agree that there needs to be a value assigned to water to encourage its conservation and efficient use, and different methods of addressing that issue …

An Economic Analysis Of Foreign Ownership In Professional Sports: Motivation, Success, And Implications For United States Market, Alex F. Wheatley

CMC Senior Theses

An economic analysis of foreign ownership in sports. Focusing on the English Premier League, National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball.

Social Network: The Case Of Major League Soccer And Facebook Likes, Rachel C. Bunting

CMC Senior Theses

The rise of Major League Soccer in the United States has taken place during an influential spread of social media. This paper conducts an empirical analysis of the effects of several variables on the Facebook "likes" of individual Major League Soccer Facebook homepages. Variables from previous sport demand studies are re-analyzed and applied in this study to determine similarities and differences to Facebook "likes". Results from the analysis indicate social media is affected differently than attendance rates. Facebook "likes" are most affected by population size, unemployment and Hispanic composition as well as player salary rather than wins or attendance.

Conflictual Foreign Policy Of The United States: Between Security And Human Rights, Chelsea K. Layman

CMC Senior Theses

The United States prioritizes human rights rhetorically but not in practice. As a result, United States policy is disjointed and conflictual between human rights and security. The result is an inconsistency in foreign policy. There have been examples of this throughout United States history such as in El Salvador, Indonesia, and Bahrain.

This thesis explored the three cases in depth by 1) providing background information and a summary of human rights violations in order to provide context for the analysis, 2) listing and explaining the reasons why the United States prioritized security, and 3) analyzing when human rights are absent …

The Federal Judicial Vacancy Crisis: Origins And Solutions, Ryan Shaffer

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the causes of the rise in vacancies on the federal courts in recent decades. Under President Barack Obama, the number of vacancies on the federal courts has sharply jumped. This is due to firm opposition by Senate Republicans, who have used the various procedural tools of that body to make it difficult for nominees to get confirmation. This antagonism is the result of a shift in how the parties view the courts and their role in the American political process. The Warren Court's expansion of substantive due process rights increased the Court's powers to the chagrin of …

The Effects Of The Media On The Discrepancy Between Gaap And Pro Forma Earnings, Peter Schock

CMC Senior Theses

This study seeks to find if there is a significant relationship between the amount of media coverage focused on public companies in the United States and the difference between GAAP financial performance and analyst-adjusted estimates of financial performance. I will answer this question by testing this difference among S&P 500 companies, as well as companies within that index as identified by a certain industry.

Weiser Carrots And Sticks: Motivation Beyond Money At The Shakedown Café, Julian A. Martinez

CMC Senior Theses

It is generally assumed that monetary incentivization is the most effective means of motivating organizationally-beneficial behaviors. Individuals, under this line of thought, pursue their own objective self-interest above all else. However, evidence is being uncovered that indicates that human motivation may be a much more complicated facet of the human psyche. The purpose of this study is to examine the deeper underpinnings that drive people work that might lie beyond financial rewards. In order to do this, the Shakedown Café, a student-run restaurant on Pitzer College’s campus, will be examined. This specific organization is of particular interest because it does …

The Third World War: American Hegemony In Latin America And The Overthrow Of Salvador Allende, Samuel Mitchell

CMC Senior Theses

Why has the United States frequently intervened in the affairs of Latin American governments? How have the motivations changed over time, and how have they stayed the same? Are American Presidents more motivated by economic or political threats to hegemony? What methods has the United States used to maintain its dominance over the Western Hemisphere, and how have they changed?

This paper seeks to address all of these questions, using a full historical examination as well as the case study of Salvador Allende's Chile. Drawing upon numerous scholars' work as well as individual research and investigation, this paper seeks to …

Occupy This: The Effect Of Income Inequality On Gdp Per Capita Growth Using Panel Data In The United States From 1963 To 2009, Dylan B. Lee

CMC Senior Theses

Income inequality and its relationship to long-term GDP per capita growth has been researched for decades since the development of the Kuznet’s Curve. Theoretical and empirical research has shown mixed results including positive, negative, non-existent, or statistically insignificant relationships. Empirical research on income inequality and economic growth in the United States has also shown mixed results. In addition to using existing data, this paper uses originally-constructed Gini Coefficients from 2005 to 2009. A statistically significant negative correlation between income inequality, and both short-term growth and long-term growth is found in the analysis of this data. Finally, this paper attempts to …

The Neuroanatomical Functions Of Tourette Syndrome And A Treatment Analysis, Kacie L. Curd

CMC Senior Theses

The etiology of Tourette syndrome has been elusive for researchers ever since its discovery, making treatment especially difficult. After proving the disorder was organic in the second half of the 20^th century, researchers have been creating theories of the underlying neural basis for Tourette’s symptomatology. These theories include abnormalities in brain structure, dysregulation of the dopamine system, dysregulation of the serotonin system and overall neurotransmitter system interactions. The etiology is likely a complex combination of all of these. Treatments for this disorder include pharmacological, behavioral and surgical. I believe the best approach for treatment is behavioral first, followed by …

The Potential Application Of Weather Derivatives To Hedge Harvest Value Risk In The Champagne Region Of France, Andrew W. Yandell

CMC Senior Theses

In Champagne, France grape growers and and winemakers work together to make the world's most iconic sparkling wine. Part of what makes Champagne so celebrated is its reputation for constant quality: only the best grapes are used to make wine. In poor vintage years, grape growers sell less grapes to winemakers; poor vintages are the result of bad weather. This presents the opportunity for grape growers to hedge the risk of poor weather and resulting lower harvest values with weather derivatives. This study explores the potential for grape growers to trade them to effectively hedge against low harvest values by …

Finding Profitability Of Technical Trading Rules In Emerging Market Exchange Traded Funds, Austin P. Hallett

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis further investigates the effectiveness of 15 variable moving average strategies that mimic the trading rules used in the study by Brock, Lakonishok, and LeBaron (1992). Instead of applying these strategies to developed markets, unique characteristics of emerging markets offer opportunity to investors that warrant further research. Before transaction costs, all 15 variable moving average strategies outperform the naïve benchmark strategy of buying and holding different emerging market ETF's over the volatile period of 858 trading days. However, the variable moving averages perform poorly in the "bubble" market cycle. In fact, sell signals become more unprofitable than buy signals …

Understanding And Exploring Narcissism: Impact On Students And College Campuses, Emily J. Hudson

CMC Senior Theses

"Narcissist" is a term that may be used lightly to describe or label someone that is self-centered. However, research that suggests a possible increase in narcissistic personality tendencies among college-aged American students has a very real and serious impact on society. The goal of this paper is to examine the evolution of the concept of narcissism and its detrimental effects on society. This will then be applied to the impact that narcissism has on college students and campus environments. It is important to note that individuals high in narcissistic traits encounter many problems including difficulties with interpersonal and professional relationships, …

Does A Change In A Logo Affect The Value Of The Brand? The Case Of Starbucks, Brittany Isobe

CMC Senior Theses

When the first Starbucks opened in 1971, not even the founders expected that just two decades later, it would become one of the strongest international corporations. Starbucks has experienced unprecedented growth and unfathomable success. The company grew from 17 stores in the company’s founding years to approximately 17,000 stores across 55 countries just 40 years later.1 According to the corporate website, the Starbucks mission is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time”.2

In order to fulfill their mission statement, Starbucks has to mold their company to align with the …

Prose And Polarization: Environmental Literature And The Challenges To Constructive Discourse, Paige E. Costello

CMC Senior Theses

This work explores how authors employ literary modes to persuade readers towards one side or another of the environmental debate and whether the works promote constructive discourse on environmental issues. It uses two seminal works from each side of the environmental discourse, Silent Spring and The Population Bomb and The Ultimate Resource and The Skeptical Environmentalist, to analyze stylistic differences and similarities, to compare public reception, and to explain the increasing polarization of environmental discourse.

A Bass Diffusion Model Analysis: Understanding Alternative Fuel Vehicle Sales, Michael H. Shoemaker

CMC Senior Theses

Frank M. Bass developed the Bass Diffusion Model to predict how innovative consumer durable products diffuse through consumer markets. This thesis will use data from 1999-2011 to examine the applicability of the Bass Diffusion Model to the introduction of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) in the automobile market. The findings in this thesis indicate the Bass Diffusion Model fit the diffusion pattern exhibited by AFVs well, but failed to accurately forecast diffusion patterns outside a given range of data. This thesis investigates potential reasons for the inaccurate 'Out of Sample Forecast', and gives recommendations for directions of future research on AFV …

The Disappearing Middle Class: Implications For Politics And Public Policy, Trevor Richard Beltz

CMC Senior Theses

What does it mean to be middle class? The majority of Americans define themselves as members of the middle class, regardless of their wealth. The number of Americans that affiliate with the middle class alludes to the idea that it cannot be defined simply by level of income, number of assets, type of job, etc. The middle class is a lifestyle as much as it is a group of similarly minded people, just as it is a social construct as much as it is an economic construct. Yet as the masses fall away from the elite, and changes continue to …

The Earning Gap Of Criminality: Effects Of Stigma, Length And Form Of Incarceration, Matthew P. Laredo

CMC Senior Theses

This paper shows that criminality causes a significant decrease in the earning potential of individuals. In addition, there is evidence to support that criminality has the same negative effect on earnings regardless of type of sentencing, whether probation or incarceration. Previous studies indicate that ex-convicts do not benefit from in-prison based programs. The purpose of this paper is to identify the short-term earning differentials between offenders and their law-abiding counter parts and offer insight as to how this can affect recidivism. Research shows that recidivists suffer the largest wage differentials, which significantly lowers their employment utility. This reduction of labor …

Who's Afraid Of The Patent Trolls? Assessing The Market Impact Of Landmark Patent Troll Litigation Outcomes, Xiaotong Li

CMC Senior Theses

Patent trolls have changed the innovation and patent policy landscape. This thesis is an empirical event study that focuses on two landmark cases of patent troll litigation, RIM v. NTP and eBay v. Mercexchange, to determine whether pro-troll litigation outcomes significantly impact the market values of the firms in the high-tech industries they target. I find that the Supreme Court ruling in eBay v. Mercexchange did seem to significantly impact a proportion of firms in the market. The decisive factors in distinguishing affected vs. unaffected firms include a firm's R&D to Sales ratio, market value, and NAICS code specification.

A Study Of Minor League Baseball Prospects And Their Expected Future Value, Jay Lyon Tymkovich

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis will examine highly rated Minor League baseball players and how they subsequently perform in their Major League careers. Specifically, this study has collected data on over 800 players ranked on the prospect lists of Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and John Sickels. Using regression analysis, I have examined the correlation between ranking and future performance, as well as studying other factors like position and age to determine if there are common characteristics to successful prospects.

Candidates, Campaigns, And Political Tides: Electoral Success In Colorado's 4th District, Megan Gwynne Maccoll

CMC Senior Theses

The race between Republican Cory Gardner and Democratic incumbent Betsy Markey for Colorado's 4^th Congressional District was a partisan fight for political momentum. In the 2010 campaign cycle, Republicans looked to retake the historically Republican 4^th District as part of a national strategy to win back the U.S. House, while Democrats tried desperately to hold on to both. Cory Gardner was only one of fifty-four Republican challengers to defeat a Democratic incumbent in 2010, but the Gardner-Markey race is particularly interesting as a case study of voter motivation and the mediating forces, both regional and national, that influence …

Tibetan Buddhism And The Chinese Communist Party: Moving Forward In The 21st Century, Evan Zwisler

CMC Senior Theses

I examine the state of Tibetan Buddhism that exists in China in the 21st century and what are the best methods to increase religious freedom and political autonomy. I look at what cause China and Tibet to reach this point, and why do the respective nations do what they do. Man people fundamentally misunderstand the reasons why the Chinese Communist Party oppresses Tibetan Buddhism; they aren't concerned with eradicating religion, they want to simply maintain longterm political legitimacy in Tibet.

How To Pick A Running Mate: Rethinking The Vice Presidential Selection Process And Criteria, Jake A. Petzold

CMC Senior Theses

Over the course of American history, the vice presidency has evolved into a meaningful and influential part of the executive branch, and running mates have become an important part of presidential elections. But scholars, pundits, and political professionals continue to discuss and evaluate vice presidential selection in an outdated framework that now borders on superstition. Now that presidential nominees have sole authority to choose their running mates and the resources to take care in the process, voters demand that they do so. The modern presidential nominee should undertake a serious and methodical research and decision-making process, and should choose a …